Cycle A - Year I:  

19 November 2023: Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

Second Reading:   1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

Gospel:  Please read  Matthew 25:14-30 

The gift of our talents!

God has given each person a variety of gifts, and He expects us to employ these gifts in His service. We need to recognize that ultimately these gifts or talents are meant for growing the kingdom of God.  And if they are not intentionally and prayerfully used, they will wither away.

The Word of God for this Sunday in the Parable of the Talents shares with us timely lesson on how to deal and make use of God-given talents. Note that the Parable of the Talents is found only in the Gospel of Matthew.

The Parable of the Talents tells the story of a master who goes on a journey one day.  He entrusts his servants with his wealth and possessions in his absence.  We can assume that he entrusts his servants with a measure of his wealth proportionate to each of their abilities.

To one servant the master gives five talents, to a second servant he gives two talents, and to a third servant he gives one talent. A "talent" in this instance refers to a unit of measurement often used to weigh out silver or gold in Jesus' time.  The Parable goes on to say that two of the servants, the one given five talents and the one handed two, were good stewards of their master's money, investing it in such a way that their talents were doubled. The third servant, however, was not as prudent. He went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

When the master eventually returned, he praised and rewarded the servants who gained profit but punished the servant who did not earn any profit because he did not invest properly the talent given to him.

The Parable is a wonderful lesson of how we are called to use God's gifts for His glory, and a firm reminded of God's expectations of His children and how His expectations vary according to our ability.

In this Parable, the main message is the need to respond to grace by making a genuine effort right through one's life. All the gifts of nature and grace which God has given us should yield a profit. It does not matter how many gifts we have received, what matters is our generosity in putting them to good use.

In our Christian living, this parable provides us an opportunity to reflect how well we use our gifts and talents for the sake of the Lord and His kingdom here on earth. In concrete terms, for example, the parable challenges us to make good use of our time, treasure, and talents that God has given us to make His kingdom grow on earth.

Now, the Gospel reading also gives us a warning. We are drawing near the end of another liturgical year, which should remind us that our time on earth is not unlimited.  For any moment could be our last. One day, when the Master returns, He'll want us to know what we've done with this precious life we've been given. Were we good stewards of what belongs to Him? Did we grow His investment? Or did we just bury our time, talent and opportunity?  It's up to us to decide, but we better decide quickly. The Master is planning His return and will be back at any moment.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!